THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 10, 1997 TAG: 9701100505
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: NHL In Hampton Roads
SOURCE: BY KAREN WEINTRAUB, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 66 lines
Now that an arena deal has been struck, the hard work of getting the region's cities to work together begins.
Thursday's agreement to build a $143 million arena in downtown Norfolk to house a major league hockey team was done by a team of local negotiators. But city leaders, who will have to ask their taxpayers for $2.3 million a year for 30 years to help pay for the arena, got their first news of the deal after 4 p.m. Thursday.
Several were unhappy about the late notice and many officials have said they are not sure their city's residents will be willing to pay higher taxes or do without other city services to fund an arena.
``I'm not prepared to make any judgment on a contract I haven't had a chance to read in detail or have analyzed,'' Virginia Beach Mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf said Thursday evening.
Norfolk Mayor Paul D. Fraim, a strong supporter of the project, said he understands that city leaders will need time to analyze the proposal.
``I know there's going to have to be a selling job,'' Fraim said.
That selling job will begin at 10 a.m. today when a number of local leaders will be briefed on the agreement.
One city leader who won't have to be convinced is Portsmouth Mayor James W. Holley III, who attended a news conference Thursday to announce the deal.
``We're excited about it,'' said Holley, who, along with every member of his council, has already made a down payment on a season ticket for the Hampton Roads Rhinos. ``We would like to be a full partner in it. It's in our best interest.''
Holley said his city will benefit from a 20,000-seat arena and a major league team just across the Elizabeth River. He said he's confident his council will agree to pay $1.50 per Portsmouth resident for the life of the 30-year deal.
``We're comfortable with $1.50,'' Holley said. ``We think it's fair.''
That means Virginia Beach would pay about $660,000 a year, Norfolk at least $330,000, Chesapeake just under $300,000, Portsmouth about $150,000 and Suffolk more than $85,000 a year. Those numbers would change as the cities' populations change.
Chesapeake Council member Alan P. Krasnoff said he's not sure he can justify asking residents for that kind of money when his city is already strapped for cash. Chesapeake City Manager John Pazour warned the council Tuesday that they may need to raise taxes in the near future to meet basic needs.
``If Chesapeake is facing a shortfall for existing needs, then how can we in good conscience look at funding for a luxury like a professional sports team?'' Krasnoff said Thursday.
Fraim said he thinks other cities will be more inclined to participate in the arena if he can package the facility with projects - like an expanded convention center in Virginia Beach and an arts center in Chesapeake - that would benefit other cities in the region.
Late last year, Norfolk hired a consultant who has worked in other regions to build a consensus for similar types of projects.
Oberndorf said she would be more inclined to support an arena in downtown Norfolk if she felt Virginia Beach would get more direct benefits from it.
``For a region to work together as a region, everyone has to feel that they are gaining something from a situation and not just being drained,'' Oberndorf said. MEMO: Staff writer Mac Daniel contributed to this report.
KEYWORDS: NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE FRANCHISE ARENA
REGIONALISM